We're Broken People

On May 31st, I was blessed with the incredible opportunity to go see Twenty One Pilots in concert, the kickoff for their Emotional Roadshow tour. (It lived up to the name, by the way.) TOP is a band that's meant the world to me -- they talk about the hard things in life with such raw honesty and hope, and they've become a ray of light for me when a lot of my world is dark and it's hard to get through the day. They've encouraged me in so many ways over the months, so when I found out they were coming so close to me, I had to make it happen. And I did. And it broke me.

So there I was, with a good friend and the little bro and my mother (yeah, she took us, I'm cool that way), waiting for the show to start. Waiting to see if it would be everything I needed it to be at the time. It was so much more than that. It was an emotional release. It was two and a half hours of screaming to the sky, of remembering that it's okay to not be okay. I cried. kinda sobbed, actually. I was in a room with thousands of people who felt the exact same things, and who were finding the same kinds of hope and solidarity. And you know what? That's incredibly important. That's crucial. That's where healing begins -- remembering that you're not alone.

they did in fact both jump off the piano and it was amazing and hilarious.

The thing that separates TOP from so many other bands is that they don't just sing about what hurts, and what's wrong. They sing about it honestly, they sing about the darkness and the pain and the depression and anxiety, but they sing about it with hope. They sing about facing it head-on, about acknowledging that it's there, but also acknowledging that our feelings do not rule us. That you can choose to heal. That you can look to the sun. That "the sun will rise, and we will try again" (Truce). Because sometimes you can't help feeling sucky. But you can choose what you can do with that, you can choose to wait it out and look to the light anyway, and there will be good days. You can be okay. You will be okay one day. There is good ahead. (They also turn to God and I love that, I love it beyond words. Just listen to The Judge or Addict With A Pen or any song, really, and you'll see what I mean.)

So here I am, at this concert. In that room full of people. Singing about the pain we all know, with the dude who was able to put into words for us, with the drummer who translates that pain and hope and beauty into a beat for us. Here I am dancing and screaming at the top of my lungs and watching Tyler Joseph crying and crying myself, because of the gift they've given me. I left feeling emotionally drained, but emotionally full at the same time. Full of hope and seeing beauty and remembering the perspective that's true.

have you ever watched the video for truce because it hurts me and i love it

Here's what I have to remember, in the words from Screen:

We're broken people.

All of us. Every. Single. One. You don't know the pain of the person sitting next to you most of the time, not personally, not specifically. But we're all messed-up. We're all anxious, or depressed, or stressed-out, or whatever. We all have broken pieces, even those people who seem like a literal ray of sunshine every time you see them. And TOP reminds us of that. Reminds us to look around with compassion and kindness because you don't know what the people around us are going through, but we know that they're broken. Let me say it again: we live in a fallen world. We're broken people.

How does it change the way you talk to people, when you really realize that?

That's what TOP teaches me. It teaches me that it's important to acknowledge the brokenness in not only ourselves, but in the people around us. It teaches me to look at the world with hope, to see the beauty, to recognize the pain and find the beauty and hope in that pain as well. It teaches me to approach those around me with understanding, to realize that they're people too.

And I want to thank Twenty One Pilots for that, because that concert was a reminder of something that's so important and crucial to the way I want to live my life.

That's what I took from that concert. Not just a great time, but a shift in perspective, too.

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"That's what TOP teaches me. It teaches me that it's important to acknowledge the brokenness in not only ourselves, but in the people around us. It teaches me to look at the world with hope, to see the beauty, to recognize the pain and find the beauty and hope in that pain as well. It teaches me to approach those around me with understanding, to realize that they're people too."

So well put. I love that you saw beyond just the fun music and the cool crowd and got at the heart of their music. And what a great perspective to have! So often I feel like we all get caught up in somehow thinking other people have it fine, that other people are "perfect." But we're all broken people. Couldn't have put it better myself. Thank you for writing this! I totally agree :)

I adore Twenty One Pilots. They've changed my perspective on life and have given me hope and comfort and an outlet when I'm feeling broken and hurting. I looked up tickets after reading this post buuut they were sold out! So I guess I'll have to wait for next time they come around. But like you said, I love how they turn to God and incorporate Him in their songs in small ways, that shines the light on Him and not on them. They are an amazing band.

Oh my gosh, everything about this is spot on. I've only come to love them recently (as you know-it's partially your fault), but their music has made me laugh and cry and everything in between, and they give me so much hope. I really can't put my love for this band into words.

AHH that sounds like so much fun, I haven't been a HUGE fan of twenty one pilots, but they saved my older cousin from depression when she met them last August and I owe them for that. This was a beautiful post Aimee. <3

I. Love. This. Post! I've never heard of TOP, but they kind of remind me of RED. They both talk about the brutal reality of our world and that the pain is real. But they also talk about the hope and beauty that God can give us through our suffering.